\nAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL\n<\/p>\n
\nPRESS RELEASE\n<\/p>\n
\n15 August 2011\n<\/p>\n
\nAI Index: PRE01\/401\/2011\n<\/p>\n
\nYoung Syrian activists held amid widespread repression<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n \nAt least three young human rights activists who helped to \nThe news of the activists’ plight comes amid reports that \nAcross Syria, more than 1,700 people have been killed since \n“The Syrian authorities must immediately reveal the \n“If they are being held solely for their involvement in \nSources have told Amnesty International that two of the \nAccording to human rights activists, Air Force Security \nWomen’s rights activist Hanadi Zahlout was arrested at a \nDamascus-based activist and film producer Shadi Abu Fakher \nFamily members of the detained activists have been too \nAll four activists had helped to organize peaceful \nSince the beginning of popular protests in mid-March, the \nAmnesty International has repeatedly called on the UN \nAMNESTY INTERNATIONAL<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n \nPRESS RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n \nAt least three young human rights activists who helped to organize peaceful protests in and near Damascus are being held incommunicado in unknown locations after their recent arrest, while fears are growing for a fourth who has gone missing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dchrs.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\norganize peaceful protests in and near Damascus are being held incommunicado in
\nunknown locations after their recent arrest, while fears are growing for a
\nfourth who has gone missing.\n<\/p>\n
\nsome 25 people have been killed since yesterday in the port city of Latakia,
\nwhere Syrian tanks and ships reportedly continue to shell residential areas in
\nan attempt to quell protests.\n<\/p>\n
\nmass protests began in mid-March, according to a list of names compiled by
\nAmnesty International. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nwhereabouts of any activists arrested in connection with the ongoing pro-reform
\nprotests and give them access to their families and lawyers,” said Philip
\nLuther, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa
\nProgramme.\n<\/p>\n
\npeaceful protests, the authorities have no basis to continue holding them, and
\nthey must be released immediately and unconditionally as they would be
\nprisoners of conscience. The Syrian authorities must also investigate reports
\nof torture and other ill-treatment in detention and bring those responsible to
\njustice.”\n<\/p>\n
\nactivists – Islam al-Dabbas and Majd al-Din Kholani, both of whom are students
\nfrom Daraya, south-west of Damascus – had been beaten severely following their
\narrest by Air Force Security on 22 July and 8 August, respectively.\n<\/p>\n
\noversees arrests in Daraya. Along with the other Syrian intelligence services,
\nit regularly detains people suspected of opposing the government and holds them
\nincommunicado for lengthy periods in detention centres that are notorious for
\ntorture and other ill-treatment.\n<\/p>\n
\ncafé in Damascus on 4 August. Detainees recently released from the Political
\nSecurity branch in Damascus said they had seen her in detention there, and that
\nshe had made a confession after being forced to watch her friend being
\ntortured.\n<\/p>\n
\nwas last heard from on 23 July when he phoned a friend he was meeting that day
\nto say he was just two minutes away.\n<\/p>\n
\nafraid to ask authorities for details of their whereabouts, sources have told
\nAmnesty International, which fears they may have been subjected to enforced
\ndisappearance. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\npro-reform demonstrations in and near the capital. Islam al-Dabbas in
\nparticular was well-known for presenting water bottles with flowers to the army
\nwhen they attempted to attack protesters in Daraya.\n<\/p>\n
\nSyrian security forces have arrested thousands of people in cities across the
\ncountry. Amnesty International has received numerous accounts of detainees
\nbeing tortured and otherwise ill-treated, with some dying in custody as a
\nresult.\n<\/p>\n
\nSecurity Council to refer the situation in Syria to the Prosecutor of the
\nInternational Criminal Court (ICC), based on evidence of crimes against
\nhumanity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"